Stunning celeb weight loss transformations Part 5 – Angelina Jolie

Angelina Jolie preparing for the role of Tomb Raider

Hi Everybody. This week you are going to read about how Angelina Jolie prepared for the role of Tomb Raider. You know about how you can lose weight from the earlier parts e.g. Jennifer Hudson and Janet Jackson or how lose weight and turn to be a Spartan e.g. Gerard Butler or Chris Hemsworth.

I chose Angelina because she is usually slim and fit and I think her best physic was in the “Tomb Raider” movies and “Mr and Mrs Smith”. (It is my personal opinion and you can agree or disagree). Everybody has heard about Lara Croft aka Tomb Raider who is a female adventurer in search of ancient relics and she has a long long history on the way back to 1996 when the first game play was released. In the PC game she is crawling, jumping, climbing, shooting and all of these combinations so Angelina Jolie had to learn martial arts, shooting and being a gymnasts for this role. Being a movie star is a very good thing not only because of the money what you can earn but the skills what you can learn for some roles and the places you can visit.

Back to the movie role and let’s see the WORKOUT(s).

It was hard and tough to get ready for impersonating Lara Croft. Her 10-week training program included diving, rowing, weapons training with special forces (SAS), martial arts such as kickbox, muay thai, krav maga and other fight drills (e.g. sword fight), bungee ballet, yoga for flexibility and core strength, football. We can say it was a pretty much intense preparing period.

She trained 6 days per week and 6-7 different disciplines a day to get ready for the role.

Her lean muscles and strength came from Gunnar Peterson celebrity trainer’s combined program of aerobic fat burning and resistance exercises + a low calorie diet. She used minimal rest between sets and compound (multi-joint) movement to recruit as many muscles as possible in less time. For example if you are in the gym it is always better if you squat with a barbell (if you have the mobility and proper technique) or walking lunges with dumbbells because it is more functional and the core muscles + other stabilizers are used too than using a leg extension machine.

The following samples are the circuits and HIIT. You can combine any exercises, equipments (TRX, kettlebell, etc) and you can make your own circuits that fits you.

Monday and Thursday

This circuit focuses on legs, back, arms, abs.

30-45 Minutes of (HITT) High Intensity Intervals Training Cardio work. When you reach this point try to use 2-3 different type of machines and try to increase/decrease the incline.

“Six days per week, doing six or seven disciplines per day to get in shape for the film. Special weight training, and a special diet. Angelina would start with yoga at six in the morning, and then she would go do weapons training.” – Simon West (Tomb Raider Director)

Tuesday and Friday

This circuit focuses on her chest, shoulders, arms, & abs.

30-45 Minutes of HIIT (walking, elliptical machine or any other aerobic activity you enjoy)

Wednesday and Saturday

ANGELINA JOLIE’S DIET

During the training, her diet consisted of lean proteins and steamed vegetables and a minimum amount of fruit and lots of water. Jolie eliminated all sugars from her diet but kept a small amount of complex carbohydrates to fuel her body. Eat lean stay lean. She was on a high protein low carb diet. The actress gave up smoking in addition to eliminating coffee.

Mix different kind of sports or frequently try new ones so you do not get bored and you feel you have new challenges that keep you moving.

You may also like

About the Expert

Richard is a personal trainer who has more than 20 years sport background and he is specialized in functional training and movements. He is qualified in CrossFit, Olympic lifting, TRX and BootCamp training and also experienced in Kettlebell and Functional Movement Screen.